Perhaps you have wondered before, how exactly do you get your electricity? Or maybe you have wondered how in the world electricity is made. Well, to answer these questions, the Wise Guys (and Girls) Math and Science Club took a trip to Plant Edwin I. Hatch on February 28, 2013.

First of all, let me explain to you the process. The process starts out with water from the Altamaha River, which is situated near the plant. In the condenser, two jobs are performed. Steam is condensed, as you will learn about later, and the water is purified and made ready to move on to the reactor vessel. In the reactor vessel, there are nuclear pellets, called control rods, stacked on top of each other. Then, BOOM! A process called fission takes place. Fission is when a neutron is thrown at atoms, which causes a chain reaction, which causes the atoms to split and create heat. The heat boils the water and turns it to steam. After that, the steam is directed to a tur-bine, which, in turn powers the turbine that powers the genera-tor. This creates the electricity that is now, at this moment, pre-sent at your house.

Now, you may have some questions, which I will, in time, answer. First of all, you may be asking, “Aren’t there any other ways to boil water besides using nuclear pellets? Aren’t they easier?” Well, yes. There are other ways. But the reason nu-clear power is used is because it is much cheaper and more efficient. How? Well, because the heat in one nuclear pellet is equal to the heat in each of the following: 1 ton of coal, 2 1/2 tons of wood, or 14 gallons of oil. Pretty amazing and expensive, huh? Of course, building a nuclear power plant might be more expensive at first, but, in the long run, it is much cheaper. Another question you might have is, “Is a nuclear power plant safe?” Yes, it is perfectly safe! Plant Hatch does not have enough nuclear energy to create something harmful to the world, so do not worry! Also, ever since 9/11 and other events like that, security has tightened up a lot. There are many security checks made for you to even enter the plant, and guards are posted and patrolling literally everywhere! Also, the nuclear reactor vessels are made so strong that if a jet crashes into them, the jet will turn into dust! Now are you feeling assured?:)

After you have heard all this, I am sure your mouth is a giant “O” and your eyes are popping out. I hope that you are interested by the information I have provided, and there is much more, but I am afraid I cannot share that much! Thank you for reading this bit of knowledge, and hold your horses, for the next newsletter is not that far off!